1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lighting sources which employ laser beams to provide illumination of airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departure routes, helipads, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, as well as lighting sources to assist in search and rescue operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many airports handle different types of aircraft ranging from highly sophisticated and complex military aircraft and commercial airliners to ultra-simple single engine airplanes with little in the way of navigation or communication capabilities. Further, the pilot""s experience and ability associated with these different aircraft also varies greatly. Edges and center lines of runways and taxiways are typically illuminated with individual incandescent lamps of comparatively high candle power. The type of illumination utilized in many previous systems exhibited a comparatively high installation cost. The power requirements for such prior systems also were excessive, and the systems were expensive to maintain. The construction and maintenance of a standard electrical illuminating system in certain areas is not always practical. Federal Regulations require these areas to be xe2x80x9clitxe2x80x9d for night operations. This invention uses lighting sources which employ laser beams to provide illumination of airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departure routes, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, as well as to assist in search and rescue operations.
The related art is represented by the following patents of interest.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,032, issued on Feb. 11, 1975 to Raymond M. Veres, describes an illumination system for providing center and edge stripes for an airport runway, in which six laser generating stations are respectively arranged in with relationship with the ends of the proposed stripes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,294, issued on Sep. 22, 1981 to Wendell D. Chase, describes a landing approach lighting system which utilizes red warning lights to delineate the runway approach with additional blue lights juxtaposed with the red lights such that the red lights are chromatically balanced.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,543, issued on Nov. 19, 1985 to Ivan S. Wyatt et al., describes a glide slope indicator system in which light from an incoming aircraft""s landing light is shaped by a spherical/cylindrical lens combination into a line image which strikes a linear photodiode array.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,912, issued on Oct. 20, 1987 to Marshall J. Corbett, describes a laser system for illuminating a column of air which captures an aircraft thereby enabling a pilot to see the air column and xe2x80x9cbucketxe2x80x9d during take-off and landing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,696, issued on Nov. 17, 1987 to Harry L. Task et al., describes a portable glide slope indicator including a pair of light sources, one projecting a steady beam and one projecting a blinking beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,164, issued on Aug. 29, 1989 to Henry C. Croley et al., describes a portable infrared landing site illumination system for fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft having night vision capabilities as provided by the Army""s second generation goggles (PVS-5) or the third generation goggles (ANVIS).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,402, issued on Jul. 2, 1996 to Robert M. Dahl, describes a wireless flight control system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,114, issued on Jan. 14, 1997 to Louis F. Ruhl, describes an landing system which allows the pilot to view the approach scene with the use of a forward looking radar or equivalent sensor which provides the means of identifying the runways and the airport and land the aircraft using the automatic landing systems on virtually all types of aircraft.
European Patent Number 0 283 441 A2, published on Sep. 21, 1988, describes a lighting system employing light sources and prism elements.
Great Britain Patent Application Number 2,202,980 A, published on Oct. 5, 1988, describes a flight path indicator including a plurality of individual light sources, beam-forming means for directing light from each of the light sources through a respective color filter and lens system to produce a plurality of differently colored diverging light beams and means for directing the beams at different inclinations to define different angular sectors.
International Patent document WO 92/04232, published on Mar. 19, 1992, describes a marker light for airfields that includes a light source and a prism so as to provide two light beams with a desired elevational angle relative to the ground level plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,098, issued Jan. 9, 1973 to N. H. F. Walden, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,891, issued Jan. 29, 1980, disclose a laser producing a beam and a plano-convex cylindrical lens. U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,137, issued Dec. 17, 1996 to J. W.
Teetzel, shows a laser gun sight with an attached flashlight module. U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,062, issued Jun. 1, 1999 to M. H. Krietzman, describes a secondary or redundant power supply for a combination laser-flashlight.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is a laser lighting system which employs laser beam lighting sources to provide illumination of airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departure routes, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, as well as to assist in search and rescue operations.
In one aspect, the laser lighting system of the present invention comprises a device for search and rescue operations having a flashlight at one end and a laser light source at the opposite end, as claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,219, issued to Applicant Dec. 28, 1999.
In another aspect, the laser lighting system of the present invention comprises a device for search and rescue operations having a laser light source built-in to the handheld speaker/microphone of a communications transceiver as claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,247, issued to Applicant Dec. 19, 2000.
Still other aspects of the laser lighting system of the present invention include an omnidirectional retroreflective marker and the marker in combination with a laser light source, as claimed in application Ser. No. 09/649,506, filed Aug. 28, 2000, now pending issuance, and a laser lighting system and post for providing radiation along a surface as claimed in application Ser. No. 09/545,876, filed Apr. 7, 2000, now pending issuance.
The claims in the present application are directed to yet another aspect of the laser lighting system of the present invention, viz., a handheld laser device, such as a laser flare which may be used as a signaling device for search and rescue situations, and which may also be used as a lighting source for illumination, recognition, and identification of retroreflective markings and materials on airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departure routes, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, buoys, channel markers, flotation devices, life rafts, and to assist in search and rescue missions.
One inventive laser lighting system includes three laser radiation stations at either end of a runway. The runway additionally includes a plurality of reflectors, however these are not required. The reflectors are fabricated from reflectorizing material. The three laser radiation stations at either end of the runway are respectively positioned in spaced relation and in line with the edges and the centerline of the runway. Each radiation station can be activated manually or by remote control radio signals using standard five click switching devices.
Each radiation station includes a plurality of laser generators, preferably three or more. The placement of these laser generators are well below the glide path of landing aircraft but at sufficient height for each of the laser generators to strike all of the reflectors including the threshold markers and runway end identifiers. The laser generators are powered by conventional power supplies. However, the laser generators may also be powered by a storage battery recharged by a solar panel. The laser generators may be shielded with adjustable shields so as to project light only on desired targets. The shields are adjusted through the rotation of vernier adjusters.
Each laser generator is of conventional construction and typically comprises a mixed gas or diode laser. Each generator produces either a rotating, oscillating, or refractive laser. A refractive laser comprises a fixed laser generator equipped with prism lens, preferably a line generator optics lens, which results in transmission of a vertical beam of light. The line generating optics is preferably a glass plano-convex cylindrical lens of which the cylindrical convex surface is aspherical rather than spherical in shape in order to eliminate spherical aberration in the lens. With a standard spherical or rod lens, the projected laser line results in a Gaussian line, i.e. brighter in the center and dim at the outer ends. When this spherical curve is altered, or aspherized, to the proper parameters, the resultant projected laser line becomes uniformly illuminated from end to end. Each generator produces a beam of coherent visible radiation from about 400 to about 700 nanometers, preferably in the range of 488 to 670 nanometers, having a diameter of the order 1.5 millimeters. The laser beam preferably is green in color for maximum visibility.
A laser lighting post according to the invention for providing radiation along a surface includes one laser for producing a beam of coherent visible or reflective radiation, and a glass plano-convex cylindrical lens which has an aspherical convex cylindrical surface for generating a laser line which is uniformly illuminated from end to end. The laser lighting post also includes a mounting column which has an access door for providing access to a tilt switch assembly and an AC/DC power adapter unit. The mounting column is attached to a base plate by a frangible coupling.
A laser lighting unit according to the invention for providing radiation along a surface includes at least one laser for producing a beam of coherent visible or reflective radiation, and a glass plano-convex cylindrical lens which has an aspherical convex cylindrical surface for generating a laser line which is uniformly illuminated from end to end. The laser lighting unit may also include a case containing a flashlight light bulb, at least one battery, and laser switch means for selectively energizing the laser via the at least one battery. The laser lighting unit also includes a light bulb switch means for selectively energizing the light bulb via the at least one battery. The laser lighting unit may also include an enlarged end to form a head having a front opening which is spanned by a parent lens. The laser lighting unit may also include a parabolic reflector.
A handheld laser device according to the present invention has a housing enclosing a battery power supply and a laser for producing a beam of coherent visible, invisible or reflective radiation, and a glass plano-convex cylindrical lens which has an aspherical convex cylindrical surface for generating a laser line which is uniformly illuminated from end to end. Various switch means may be used to activate the device, such as a spring biased plunger, rotary switch, etc. The device includes waterproof seals so that the device may be used in marine applications. Optionally, the handheld device may include a cluster of high intensity light emitting diodes at the end opposite the laser beam, together with a circuit which flashes SOS when activated.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a laser lighting system which includes a handheld laser device which may be used as a signaling device for search and rescue situations.
It is another object of the invention to provide a laser lighting system handheld laser device for providing radiation along a surface that includes one laser for producing a beam of coherent visible, invisible or reflective radiation, and a glass plano-convex cylindrical lens which has an aspherical convex cylindrical surface for generating a laser line which is uniformly illuminated from end to end.
It is a further object to provide a handheld laser device which may be used as a lighting source for illumination, recognition, and identification of retroreflective markings and materials on airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departure routes, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, buoys, channel markers, flotation devices, life rafts, and to assist in search and rescue missions.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a handheld laser device which includes a laser emitting a laser beam at one end of the device, and optionally includes a cluster of high intensity light emitting diodes at the end opposite the laser beam, together with a circuit which flashes SOS when activated.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a handheld laser device for search and rescue operations which includes waterproof seals for marine applications.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a laser lighting system for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.